Governor Bentley Is Gone, But Corruption Continues Unabated In #ALpolitics

Jefferson County Officials May Walk Free

Republican Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (foreground, RIGHT), and Attorney General Luther Strange. Both men were re-elected to their positions in 2010.

By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on April 30, 2017
Used with permission

Marshall County District Attorney Steve Marshall, 52, was appointed Alabama Attorney General by Republican Governor Robert Bentley to fulfill Luther Strange’s unexpired term.

Former Alabama Governor Robert Bentley made two major gubernatorial appointments before resigning in disgrace earlier this month. First, Bentley appointed Luther Strange to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. This appointment was designed to quash an ongoing criminal investigation by the Special Prosecutions Division of the Attorney General’s office into ethics violations and public corruption activities committed by Bentley and his lover, Rebekah Caldwell Mason. Strange, who traded his power to indict Bentley and Mason on felony charges in exchange for a senate seat, is now sinking in the pre-election polls as he heads into an August special primary election.

Republican Alabama Governor Robert Bentley & Communications Director cum-Political Advisor/paramour Rebekah Caldwell Mason

Next, Bentley appointed Marshall County District Attorney Steve Marshall to replace Luther Strange as Attorney General. Marshall is a 52-year old “good old boy” who was thrilled with the appointment. Bentley picked Marshall because he was generally regarded as the weakest district attorney in Alabama. Plus, Marshall had zero experience in public corruption cases. Bentley wanted to make sure that the new attorney general did not have the experience, courage, or motivation to come after him for his felony crimes.

Former United States Attorney Alice Martin was also Deputy Attorney General for the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts in the Alabama Attorney General’s office in 2013.

Marshall’s first act of business was to sack Alice Martin, the well-credentialed Chief Deputy Attorney General under Luther Strange. Martin was the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. As s federal prosecutor, she amassed a record number of public corruption convictions for public officials and vendors who bribed them. Her record in this regard is unmatched in Alabama history.

Matt Hart, seen here at Republican Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard’s trial, leads the Special Prosecutions Division in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.

Marshall’s second act of business was to gut the authority and power vested in Matt Hart, the chief of the Special Prosecutions Division. Matt Hart and Alice Martin investigated former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. Their investigation resulted in criminal charges against Hubbard. Last July, Hubbard was convicted of 12 counts of ethics violations and was ousted from office. Alabamians who championed ethical government celebrated Hubbard’s conviction. Bentley was enraged by it.

Republican U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (LEFT), with Republican U.S. Senator from Alabama Luther Strange. Strange was State Attorney General, and was appointed by Governor Bentley to fulfill the remainder of Sessions’ Senate term.

Bentley’s selection of Marshall has paid off for him. It netted the former governor a “sweetheart” plea deal that

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Federal Investigators Pursuing #ALpolitics @GovernorBentley #Corruption

—Exclusive Breaking News—

Feds Pull Protective Cover Off Bentley, Mason

By Donald V. Watkins
©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on February 15, 2017
Used with permission

Our Facebook news team has just learned that the U.S. Department of Justice has given federal prosecutors full authority to resume their investigation of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and his married girlfriend, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, and to prosecute them if the evidence unearthed in their investigation warrants it. The Department scaled back its earlier criminal investigation of Bentley and Mason after former Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange lulled the Department into believing that he would prosecute the First Couple of Alabama on state law ethics violations.

In December of last year, Strange decided to give Bentley and Mason a prosecutorial “pass” on state ethics law violations in exchange for an appointment to the U.S. senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. This move, which may well constitute a form of bribery under federal law, has embarrassed and angered career federal prosecutors.

The move has also demoralized the Public Corruption Unit led by Deputy Alabama Attorney General Alice Martin and Unit Chief Matt Hart. Martin and Hart are seasoned professional prosecutors with a proven track-record of success in high-profile public corruption cases.

Public outcry over the unsavory deal between Bentley and Strange has reached a fever pitch in the state. Alabamians witnessed a sitting governor buy his way out of a messy state criminal investigation by appointing a greedy and selfish former attorney general to the senate seat in Washington. What is more, Bentley put off the mandatory 90-day special election for Strange’s senate seat until the November 2018 general election.

Bentley’s appointment of Steve Marshall as Alabama Attorney General pushed the public and the Justice Department over the edge. Marshall, who was a longtime district attorney in a small Alabama County, has no